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List of Otis elevator fixtures (North America)
This is a guide to some notable Otis elevator fixtures in the United States. For the global version, please refer to Otis Elevator Fixtures Guide (Global). 1800s-1930s Manually-Controlled When manually-controlled elevators were common before in 1920s, most Otis elevators at that time are using old deadman controls, which is usually a car switch used by elevator operators to move the elevator cars. If the crank moved to the left, the elevator car goes down and if the crank moved to the right, the elevator car goes up. Some elevators have a vintage hall call annunciator to announce elevator operator that a hall call outside has been registered on certain floors. Some old Otis freight elevators have continous-pressure controls, which are up/down buttons inside and outside the elevator, which move the elevator in the direction marked when held down. File:VINTAGE Manually-Controlled OTIS Traction Freight Elevator @ 153 W. 108th St. Parking, New York, NY|Old Deadman controls Otis Elevator IMG_1409.JPG|Vintage Otis hall station from manually-controlled elevator. CrankBrass5.JPG|Vintage Otis brass car switch CallTeller.JPG|Vintage Otis call annunciator panel for operator to receive hall calls. CrankSilver.JPG|Vintage Otis metal car switch. 1900's Otis Black Button Call Station.png|1900's Otis deadman's control hall station 6809414792 96939d38db z.jpg|Vintage Otis car switch (Starks Building, Louisville, KY) Elevator-1.jpg|Vintage Otis car switch for high rise elevators (Smith Tower, Seattle, WA) 5010333971 1824a59b0e z.jpg|Early 1930's Otis car switch OtisControl.jpg|Vintage Otis car switch (Credit to Wikipedia user Drgitlow) Passenger-056 medium.jpeg|Vintage Otis brass car switch Cs31.jpg|Vintage Otis brass car switch 291852870.jpg|Vintage Otis brass car switch Old Otis Manually controlled Traction elevator Robert E Lee Building Lexington VA.jpg|Vintage Otis brass car switch (Robert E. Lee Building, Lexington, VA) Automatic When Otis introduced automatic elevators, possibly in the 1910s, elevators at that time are using old black buttons. The exterior call button panel has a small round red lamp, which indicates that the elevator is in use (IN USE) when the call button is pressed. Also note that most of the vintage hall station and car operating panels have the old Otis "globe" logo, and today, CJ Anderson Elevator Products Company in fact, makes "Classic Antique" fixtures that bear a close resemblance to the old Otis fixtures. Note that automatic elevators were a choice at the time, and were more costly to buy, and could not be used in large buildings. IMG_2860.JPG|1910's C.J. Anderson Series-6 Classic Rectangular car station with Otis buttons IMG_2861.JPG|1910's C.J. Anderson Series-6 Classic Rectangular car station with Otis buttons IMG_2862.JPG|1910's C.J. Anderson Series-6 Classic Rectangular car station with Otis buttons Old 1920s Otis fixtures.jpg|Old 1920s Otis call button panel (by dieselducy). IMG_5119.JPG|Different 1920's Otis car station IMG_5120.JPG|Different 1920's Otis car station IMG_5121.JPG|Different 1920's Otis car station IMG_1637.JPG|Late 1920s-early 1930s Otis car station IMG_5297.JPG|1920's Otis car station IMG_5299.JPG|1920's Otis car station IMG_5228.JPG|1920's Otis car station IMG_5244.JPG|1920's Otis car station IMG_5296.JPG|1920's Otis car station 1930s-1980s Old Black Lexan Buttons In this era, most standard elevators are using the old black round buttons with classic white letterings; in the case of Otis, these buttons were made out of Lexan fiberglass. These buttons are very simple with no illumination indication. Also, there is no door close button; pressing a floor will quickly close the door and the car starts. Otis updated the black buttons, making them flush buttons with an illuminating halo. Floor counters were simply metal plates with illuminating numbers, going horizontally. They were also illuminating squares positioned vertically. By the mid-1970s, digital floor counters began appearing, and in some elevators, the directional indicator was on both sides of the floor indicator. The Lexan buttons were discontinued in 1989-1990. YouTube elevator enthusiasts refer to the non-illuminating buttons as Pre-Lexan since they referred to the version with the illuminating as Lexan. However the term pre-lexan is false. Screen Shot 2012-11-17 at 10.17.43 PM.png|Old Otis car operating panel with black buttons. Otis_1970s_floor_counter.jpg|Typical Otis interior floor counter (1950s-1980s) Old_Otis_1970s_hall_indicator_and_lanterns.jpg|A 1970s Otis hall floor counter with green up hall lanterns. Otis Black buttons UK.jpg|Another typical Otis black buttons. Odd Otis black buttons.jpg|Old Otis black buttons in Rush Rhees Library, Rochester, NY. Old Otis Lexan fixtures Austin TX.jpg|Newer Lexan push buttons (Austin, TX). Lexan closeup.png|Close-up of the old Lexan button with halo. Touch sensitive buttons Also during the 1950s and 1960s, Otis was using black buttons with illuminating halos; they were either rounded or square shaped. These buttons used vacuum tubes so that the passenger would only lightly touch the button to go to his or her floor, which are actually worked by completing a circuit when your finger comes into contact with the button. This all works through a spring behind the touch plate that runs to the Thyratron tube behind the button, which serves as the switching circuit and the light bulb. The touch-sensitive buttons were discontinued later on as they were claimed to be a fire hazard.Touch Buttons, ASME A17.1, and the ADA - a discussion board in Skyscrapersim Forum. Also, many elevators with touch sensitive buttons were modernized for the same reason, as well as the car operating panels not being at ADA height. OTIS Lexan call buttons.jpg|Lexan touch-sensitive call buttons in Sibleys Tower, Rochester, NY. OTIS Lexan call buttons square.jpg|Lexan touch-sensitive buttons (square) Otis Lexan.jpg|Lexan touch-sensitive buttons (round) 00244.jpg|Round Lexan touch-sensitive call button. 00248.jpg|Another round Lexan touch-sensitive buttons. Roswell, NM VINTAGE 1960s Otis Touch Sensitive Traction Elevators @ 500 N. Main St.|More Otis square touch-sensitive buttons (Roswell, NM) Rotodial indicators Rotodial indicators were first appeared in the 1940s or 1950s. These indicators have rotating disk with floor number printed on it. The disk is enclosed with a round glass and has an arrow on the center of the dial. When the elevator car is moving up, the disk rotates to the right and when the car moves down, the disk rotates to the left. In some newer elevators, the Rotodial indicators are vertical roller type, which means that the number rolls upward when the car goes up and rolls down when the car goes down. Rotodial indicators usually have the typical Otis black call buttons below. OTIS_rotodial.jpg|Otis Rotodial indicator. OTIS Rotodial Indicator.png|Two vintage Otis Rotodial indicators. IEE indicators Also from the 1960s to the 1980s, Otis uses the "IEE indicator" in very few elevators at that time.How the Otis "Vanishing" indicator works - a video from thyssenelevator95 This indicator is unique because the floor number display disappeared when the car passed between two floors. This type of indicator has a rack of 9 bulbs on each side of the display that sit behind a piece of film with numbers cut in it. A mirror directs the light towards the viewing screen, and you get the number of the floor.Otis Projecting Readout System retrofit brochure (from CEElectronics of England) The IEE indicator is often called "Otis vanishing indicator" by several YouTube elevator enthusiasts. Otis vanishing indicator.jpg|Otis "vanishing" indicator. Otis Vanishing indicator TX.jpg|Otis vanishing indicator at University of Texas Tower, Austin, TX. IMG_4609.JPG|Otis IEE indicator Early 1980s to current Otis' U.S. fixtures can be very hard to tell apart. There are 7 different "Series" of fixtures. Series 2,4, and 5 are nearly identical, and are the hardest to tell apart. Series 1 Series 1 is fairly common, and is normally seen in Otis Elevonic 401 and some hydraulic elevators in the early 1980s up to the mid-2000s. It has a very distinctive look. Normal Otis Series 1 buttons are raised off the elevator panel, although sometimes the buttons are flush with the panel. It has black plastic trim with either a silver or bronze face plate. The indicator is slanted down towards the floor. Some elevators may also have a slanted up panel with some or all of the floor buttons on it. The indicator is green and is often a digital, but sometimes a segment indicator is used for buildings with four floor or less. It also has some custom installations which only have 2 rows of the buttons for every panels and the floor indicator is located on the other way. Otis Series 1 fixtures were discontinued by the mid-2000's, but are still offered for custom installations. Screen Shot 2012-07-31 at 11.44.49 PM.jpg|Typical Otis Series 1 panel. OTIS Series 1 wheelchair panel.jpg|Series 1 side car operating panel for handicapped passenger. OTIS Series 1 hall buttons.jpg|Series 1 call button panel. OTIS Series 1 button panel.jpg|Series 1 buttons. Capture.JPG|Older Series 1 floor indicator. OTIS Series 1 indicator.jpg|Series 1 floor indicator. Hqdefault.jpg|Series 1 floor indicator. 5753251616_3a30e2a03e_z.jpg|Otis Series 1 call button with Fire Service keyswitch. Otis Series 1 ext-indicator.jpg|Series 1 customized hall lantern in a hospital (because the "Emergency Use" hall lantern). Series 1 Elevator Fixtures.PNG|Otis Series 1 floor button. Series 1 indicaor.jpg|Series 1 floor indicator for custom installations. Series 1 fire panel.jpg|Series 1 external fire control panel. Series 2 Series 2 has a completely different look then Series 1. Introduced in the late 1990s, Series 2 comes with round metallic buttons with either a flush or projecting design. Vandal resistant buttons have a small circle in the middle instead of a ring. Series 2 can be sometimes confused with Series 5. The big difference is that the Series 2 floor indicator is a rectangle; Series 5 has the Otis parentheses ( ) indicator. Untitled.jpg|Series 2 floor buttons. Series 3 The Series 3 fixtures are normally found in the Elevonic 411, 411M and Double Deck elevators in the mid-1990s. Some elevator filmers mistakenly call these fixtures "Otis European Fixtures" - as they are found on North American installations also. It consists of round concave buttons with green or red illumination halo, green (for up) and red (for down) hall lanterns and digital segmented floor indicators. Otis also make a vandal resistant version of the Series 3 fixture, the buttons are made from machined aluminum (rather than chromed plastic) and the halo is replaced with a green or red LED at the centre of the button. Some elevators with Series 3 fixtures use Electro Luminescent Display (ELD) indicators. The Series 3 fixtures is often called "Otis Luxury Fixtures". It also has a nice bell chime which sounds once (for up) and twice (for down) and a female voiceover sound. Nowadays, this fixtures set has been modified as part of the current Series 4 fixtures in North America. OTIS Series 1 buttons.jpg|Series 3 buttons OTIS Series 4 hall button panel.png|Typical Series 3 hall button panel. OTIS Series 4 hall lantern and indicator.png|Typical Series 3 hall lantern and indicator. OTIS Series 4 indicator.jpg|Series 3 digital floor indicator. OTIS Series 4 ELD.jpg|Series 3 electro luminescent display (ELD) indicator. OTIS Series 4 ELD 201 Elizabeth St Sydney.jpg|Another ELD display used in a double deck elevator. OTIS Series 4 fixtures 201 Elizabeth St Sydney.jpg|Series 3 buttons (red) OTIS Series 4 Indicator.png|Digital-segmented LED floor indicator. Series 4 Series 4 will look exactly the same as Series 2 & 5, the only difference is that Series 4, like Series 5, lights up red. To distinguish Series 4 from 5, typically Series 4 has the older chime that it shares with Series 1 & 2, and has a rectangular indicator. Otis Series 4 and 5 buttons.jpg|Series 4 buttons. Screen Shot 2012-08-01 at 12.15.21 PM.jpg|Series 4 floor indicator. Series 5 Series 5 uses the same fixtures as Series 2 and 4, but Series 4 and 5 light up red. Series 5 usually uses the parentheses indicator. It uses Otis' new chime, which for the down signal uses 2 different sounding tones. Series 5 fixtures are more commonly found in hydraulic elevators more than traction elevators. Otis Series 2 and 5 Indicator US.jpg|Series 5 typical floor indicator. OTIS Series 5 indicator.JPG|Another OTIS Series 5 floor indicator. 148_0282.JPG|Series 5 call button panel. 148_0285.JPG|Series 5 lanterns. 148_0287.JPG|Series 5 button. 148_0312.JPG|Series 5 hall floor indicator. elevator-buttons-series5.jpg|Otis Series 5 floor buttons. Newer Otis Series 5 with bar emergency light.png|Newer Otis Series 5 found on an Otis Gen 2 MRL Traction Elevator, New Series 5's have thin bar-style emergency light similar to Otis Series 7 (see below) OTIS Series 5 buttons.jpg|Another Otis Series 5 buttons (credit: Maalit72). Series 6 Series 6 is rare to find. Series 6 is Otis' vandal resistant fixtures, mostly found in parking garages. It uses a simple, flush, black plastic fixture panel and has a square indicator. Directional arrows are also built into the indicator. Series 6 has the same fixtures found on Series 2,4, and 5, either flush or rounded and popped out. Otis Series 6 fixtures.jpg|Series 6 buttons. Series 6 indicator.jpg|Series 6 floor indicator. Series 7 (First Edition & Updated Edition) Series 7 is the newest addition to Otis's fixture line. It uses the same buttons as Series 2, 4 & 5, but light up blue or red. The emergency light is a thin, white line that bulges out slightly from the COP, below the indicator. Indicator is a normally a blue or red "ACME" indicator and most models have a LCD screen floor indicator (which resembles a European 2000 Fixtures display). It will be used in new elevators starting in 2012. Otis Series 7 elevators have either a blue up/down indicator or a up/down indicator that has green for up and red for down. The updated version of the Series 7 line uses kind of call buttons that looks like Otis's Lexan buttons. mqdefault (1) 2.jpg|Series 7 Floor Indicator Snapshot 1 (6-10-2013 9-00 PM) - Copy.png|The lanterns in this picture is really just one lantern. This is a series 7 lantern Series 7 buttons.png|Series 7 buttons. 007.JPG|Updated Otis series 7 fixtures 005.JPG|Updated Otis series 7 in-car lantern 006.JPG|Updated Otis series 7 floor indicator 004.JPG|Updated Otis series 7 call button Compass Otis' destination dispatch system, named Compass, replaces the conventional call buttons in the elevator lobby on each floor with either a wall-mounted keypad panel or large LCD touch display. It also replaces the floor buttons inside the cab, as the floor number is entered outside the cab.Except for Hybrid Configuration, where floor buttons inside are functional. For the wall-mounted keypad panel, it has the telephone-style keypad buttons and LCD screen above the buttons. The fixtures used inside the car are round stainless steel projecting buttons for the door control and alarm buttonsButtons used with Series 2, 4 & 5., and LCD screen for floor indicators. The floor destination display indicators are installed on both side of the inner door frames, and are digital-segmented or LCD screen. OTIS Compass car M display.jpg|Keypad type. OTIS Compass car S display.jpg|Car display (floor 1, take Car S to the right). OTIS Compass Hall Screen.png|LCD touch screen. OTIS Compass destination display on door jamb.jpg|Floor destination display indicators installed on door frame. OTIS Compass fixtures button.jpg|Projecting buttons used as the door control and emergency buttons. Trivia *The "Series" name is given by Unitec Parts, which is a parts company that deals with Official Genuine Otis Elevator and Escalator Parts. *The Series 5 lantern is a knock-off of the Schindler HT lantern and also the digital Series 5 lantern is a knock-off of the Kone KSS 700 lantern. Note See Also *Otis Elevator Fixtures Guide (Global) External Links *Otis fixtures collection from Unitec Parts *Beno's Lift Guide - Otis Elevator Company Category:Elevator fixtures guide